If I’m being honest, I’ve never had much of a desire to visit Northern BC. To say that I’m not a fan of cold weather is putting it mildly and the north has winters that would even make the characters on Game of Thrones a bit nervous. Not to mention that I am a city girl through and through – small towns just don’t really do it for me. Sorry.

But, I can also admit to being a bit ignorant when it comes to all of the advantages and opportunity that a Northern lifestyle can provide. It clearly has appeal to some and I am always willing to try new things. So, when work called me to Prince George (thankfully in September not January) I was excited to see it for myself.

Luckily for me, my friend Melanie also lives in PG and gave me a royal welcome. We had one day to see the sights, which included a delicious breakfast at Nancy O’s and a tour of the very impressive UNBC campus.

But the highlight of the day was definitely our trip outside the city limits to visit The Ancient Forest. We had to drive over an hour to reach the trail head but it was well worth the effort to see this old growth forest on such a beautiful, sunny, autumn day.

We had our choice of three well-marked, well-groomed trails. We chose to do the Waterfall loop and end off with the wheel chair friendly boardwalk. I really enjoyed the muddy, uneven trails because it required careful footwork but was still an easy hike. From what I understand, it is quite remarkable to find such large trees this far North and this close to the Rockies. Since I have essentially grown up in a rainforest, I’m used to seeing big trees and felt right at home on the trails. Maybe the North isn’t quite as desolate as I imagined?

I still don’t think I’m hardy enough to live up North but it definitely has more to offer than I would have guessed.

What about you? Have you ever lived in a remote location or tough climate?